


Drifting Feathers

by kaleidoscopeMediator



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Sburb/Sgrub Sessions, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Communication Failure, Human Experimentation, Humanstuck, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide attempt, Mental Health Issues, Reconciliation, Rule 63, Unethical Experimentation, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28065339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaleidoscopeMediator/pseuds/kaleidoscopeMediator
Summary: Your name is Eridan Ampora and today is your sixteenth birthday. Your also sure that in the days leading up to it, you've gone completely insane.Between suffering through chronic pain, clinical depression, and terrifying hallucinations of feral feathered beasts, it's amazing that you've kept it together well enough to avoid being thrown into an asylum.You have a feeling it's going to be a long year.------------------------------Or an AU where Eridan finds herself drawn back into the fold of her estranged childhood friend group and is dragged into a seething underground society of gangs, monsters, and magic.
Relationships: Eridan Ampora & Roxy Lalonde
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. Rainy Days

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [On the Fragile Feather of Hope](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5759833) by [Luneth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luneth/pseuds/Luneth). 



======> Listen to the Rain

  
**January 31st, 20XX**

You already are thank you very much, it’s a hell of a lot better than either listening to the teacher drone on and on about a book everyone already know back to front or suffering through the screeches of those feathery jackass hallucinations that are swarming around...speaking of.

_The )̸̷̶̶̵̵͔̦̖̰̯̯̰̔͐͊̀̉̅͝#̶̵̷̶̸̡̡̮͇̮̠͕̓̓̏̆̋͊͐͝ͅͅ$̷̴̸̴̴̡̪̼̻͓͎͌̆̋̎͗̕͜ &̶̸̵̵̷̶̨̛̗̺̻̦̠̗̙̰͌̂̉͒̾̒̈́͊!̸̷̶̶̷̵̧͙̮̲̖̳̼̲͉̦̒̍̆̎̄̋͗͝(̷̷̴̸̶̴̡͕̤͙̮̼̟̺͋̍͊͌̈́̽̌̍̈́̕ still sleeping._

_Silly girl, isn’t it about time you woke up?_

_We’ve all been waiting for you dear )̸̷̶̶̵̵͔̦̖̰̯̯̰̔͐͊̀̉̅͝#̶̵̷̶̸̡̡̮͇̮̠͕̓̓̏̆̋͊͐͝ͅͅ$̷̴̸̴̴̡̪̼̻͓͎͌̆̋̎͗̕͜ &̶̸̵̵̷̶̨̛̗̺̻̦̠̗̙̰͌̂̉͒̾̒̈́͊!̸̷̶̶̷̵̧͙̮̲̖̳̼̲͉̦̒̍̆̎̄̋͗͝(̷̷̴̸̶̴̡͕̤͙̮̼̟̺͋̍͊͌̈́̽̌̍̈́̕_

How stupid, your already awake thank you very much, so back off!! They’ve been getting worse lately, it was barely a few weeks ago where you could barely see or even hear them but there’s even more now than ever...the back of your hand itches and you idly scratch at it. Just ignore them, they always go away event--

“Kanaya, please read from where we left off”

You’re proud to say that you don’t flinch, instead slightly turning your head to the right to watch from the corner of your eye. Kanaya is by far the tallest in your entire class with pale skin and clear jade eyes. Her short hair gives a stark contrast, pitch black and so precisely styled, not a strand out of place unless intentionally styled so. Her voice is clear and concise as she continues from where the last student left off. You aren’t paying attention to what she says though, your gaze is solely on her hands, specifically her well-manicured and _sharp_ nails. The scars on the right side of your face itch and you force yourself to look away, there’s no use in dwelling on things best left in the past.

You’re grateful for the gaiter Cronus gave you a week after your fourteenth birthday...it really helps. Come to think of it, both he and your dad have been dropping by more often as well...it’s a nice change, make living on your own a bit easier. Especially when they bring groceries, food is fucking expensive.

======> Bells ringing, better get a move on

You give a small sigh of relief unpleasant memories aside, the look the teacher was giving you just now was starting to make you feel apprehensive. You hope she doesn’t try to corner you during class tomorrow, that’s the last thing you need. You adjust your glasses and stretch out, curving your back along the seat until you hear a light crackling and lightly roll your shoulders, sitting in the same position is murder on your back but bad habits are hard to break. Standing up you slowly and methodically begin to put your assignments away, you usually prefer to be the last one out the door.

You have to brace yourself against the desk though as pain flares up and throughout your abdomen, this has been getting worse as well.

Actually right now it’s a hell of a lot worse, **ow, ow, motherfucking ouch!!!**

It takes everything in your power to not keel over right there and nope, fuck this shit, you don’t care how pathetic it looks your going to the med bay right now, and with that internal declaration you set off. You’re going to miss your next class but it’s hard to care, there’s a time and place for some things, and you sure as hell ain’t suffering through this bullshit for science...no pun intended.

_Ignoring us won’t help, )̸̷̶̶̵̵͔̦̖̰̯̯̰̔͐͊̀̉̅͝#̶̵̷̶̸̡̡̮͇̮̠͕̓̓̏̆̋͊͐͝ͅͅ$̷̴̸̴̴̡̪̼̻͓͎͌̆̋̎͗̕͜ &̶̸̵̵̷̶̨̛̗̺̻̦̠̗̙̰͌̂̉͒̾̒̈́͊!̸̷̶̶̷̵̧͙̮̲̖̳̼̲͉̦̒̍̆̎̄̋͗͝(̷̷̴̸̶̴̡͕̤͙̮̼̟̺͋̍͊͌̈́̽̌̍̈́̕_

_It’ll just make things worse_

**_Why won’t you l̵i̷s̵t̵e̶n̸?_ **

Oh joy, they’re still here, wonderful.

======> Ignore the annoying feathery bastards

You are **_TRYING_ **dammit!! It’s not like you actually want to be stuck listening to the manifestations of the fact that you’re losing your mind, fuck you very much!! It once again takes everything you have to not break into a sprint and instead you manage to continue down the school halls in a hopefully leisurely fashion. Thankfully this is the first floor so you won’t have to risk any stairs, you don’t need the extra bruises. You give an internal sigh of relief when you finally arrive at the med bay, in reality, it’s only been ten minutes but it felt like hours. The relief escapes as swiftly as it arrives when you realize who is on duty and you fight the urge to turn and flee.

“Oh, Eridan, are you feeling okay?”

You’ve never actually had a problem with Aranea Serket, she’s always been kind to you, even two years later, it’s just that she still makes you think of Vriska whenever you see her and that should speak for itself.

“Not really, stomach has just been hurtin is all, was hopin for a medical pass, so I can head home,”

Aranea just gives you a thoughtful look for a few seconds before smiling “That’s perfectly fine Eridan, normally you’d have to wait here for half an hour before I could let you have one but I think I can make an exception for today, you wouldn’t have come to ask if it wasn’t bad”

Maybe it’s actually a relief she’s here, you know for a fact that any of the other’s who work here wouldn’t have been so lenient, “Thanks, I really appreciate it” you say as you take a picture of the signed form needed to show the security guard. Can’t get out of school early without it. You give her a small wave as you turn to leave but stop at the sound of her voice, small and shy, “I understand if you’d feel uncomfortable and you don’t have to but if you happen to see Cronus, could you please ask him to message me? I just need to talk to him about something important,” she says as she gives you a kind but sad smile.

“Sure, I can do that, don’t know if he’ll actually do it but I’ll try” You hope he will at least, you really don’t want to see her face crumple into misery the same way Meulin’s did when you had to tell her that Cronus had to work, even when you both knew it was his day off.

======> Eridan: Abscond

You give Aranea what you hope is a reassuring nod and leave, hoping to hell and back it doesn’t look like the swift escape it actually is. There’s only so much you can take in one day and this single meeting has depleted your social gauge for the entire week.

And of course, someone is trying to contact you, wonderful.

\-- artisticCasonova [AC] began pestering cynicalAstronomer [CA] at 13:20 --

  
AC: hey, i havwe to vwork late tonight so i stopped by earlier to drop off some groceries   
CA: no problem im actually headin home early not feelin too good   
CA: so uh   
AC: vwhat   
CA: aranea wwants to talk to you   
CA: you should stop ignorin her   
AC: ...thats not something you need to vworry about   
AC: just get home safely

  
\-- artisticCasonova [AC] ceased pestering cynicalAstronomer [CA] at 13:25 --

That was a trainwreck. Well, you tried, and as bad as you feel for Aranea, you just want to get home...you hope Cronus at least considers it. You also hope that he remembered to actually put the groceries in the fridge this time. It seems that things are finally quieting down now, the feathery hallucinations have finally gone away so that’s a plus. You hum appreciatively as you begin walking down the stairs, the past three months have taught you to enjoy the silence while it lasts, because it always ends eventually.

The security guard at the front door doesn’t even glance up from his phone, merely holding out the scanner. You hold out your phone with the picture of the barcode ready and a few seconds later the confirmation beep rings out and the door unlocks. You're hit by a blast of humid air and the smell of gasoline from the parking lot. Your nose wrinkles as you pull the gaiter wrapped around your face tighter, your side already hurts and you don’t need a headache to compliment it.

======> The bus has arrived early, better hurry or you’ll be waiting for another hour

Oh fuck that, you rush forward, sprinting across the lot and down the stairs. Your legs are numb and shaking as you throw yourself through the door, the bus driver is giving you an incredulous look. Okay, you may have been quick to assume he’d take off but you’ve been burned by public transportation before and you aren’t taking any chances.

Once again you are presented with a scanner, once again you present the picture of a barcode, and once again, a soft confirmation beep rings out and he waves you through. You trudge towards the back, the bus is moderately full but nothing compared to rush hour, there are a few free seats and you don’t feel like interacting with anyone. You sigh in relief as you settle into a window seat and dump your backpack onto the aisle seat next to you. You sink back, curling into a tight ball and sinking into your warm coat. You're feeling sleepy, it will be a little while before you get back to your district so...a small nap...really couldn’t...hurt.

You doze off, lulled to sleep by the engine of the bus.

======> W̴̲͛̀A̵̛͇͌K̴̰̒E̴̲̮̓ ̶̡͖̓͂U̵̻̣̍̀P̸͍̂

You are awake, you're laying on your side, everything hurts, something drips down the side of your face. You try to lift yourself up, the best you can manage is turning to the side and bracing yourself on your shoulder turning your head to look around.

Your hand is burning.

  
  
  


W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔

  
  


You can’t see properly though, your glasses are gone and it's so dark. Except for a faint glow. You can barely make out a sliver of your surroundings, metal is twisted all around you and there’s glass below you. And in front of you, something wet seems to drag itself across the ground, you think you hear sobbing.

  
  
  


_W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔_

**W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔**

Something is moving toward you, a large mass of black coated in a thick oily substance.

  
  
  


**_W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔_ **

**_W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔_ **

**_W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔_ **

  
  


You can see it a bit more clearly, its eyes are a hollow and grotesque white, chunks of hardened oil fall from its body as it moves, hitting the glass-covered floor in squelched.

  
  
  


W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔ _W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔_ **W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔** **_W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔_ **

  
  
  


You see teeth, so many sharp teeth looming over you, nearing your face, black saliva coating your frozen body 

**And your** ** _hand is fucking burning!!!_ **

  
  


_W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔_

**W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔**

**_W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔W̸̴̵̶̵̸̪͓̬͉̭̲͕̏͊͛̉̀̽͜͝Ȃ̵̵̴̷̷̶̛̠͔̖͇̺̩̫̦͇͎̆̏͌́͊̽̚̚̕͜K̵̴̶̶̴̻̞͉̮̯̰͍̏̈̒̽͊͘͝͝Ė̷̴̶̸̸̷̢̧̠̗̲̮̮͉̾̿̓́͒͘ͅ ̸̶̴̵̶̸̶̡͉͕̞̠̜͖͖̪̗̤͗͋̓͐͋͂͌̈́̔͐͝͝͝ͅU̷̵̴̶̵̸̵̢͓̳̤̭͕̻̦̗̣̒̑̓̍̂̀̽̽̔͝͝P̴̸̵̴̶̘͉̪͔̮͍̗͚̍̓̌̂͆̎̔_ **

  
  
  
  


_And everything goes white._


	2. Strange Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A forgotten dream, a strange mark, a mysterious encounter, and an unexpected ambush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you've probably already guessed, I'm quite a slow writer.
> 
> Please be patient with me ^^;;

======> Eridan: Dream

**December 12, XXXX**

_Gentle music plays in the background and a soft golden light fills the area, shining on the hardwood floor._

_The dance studio room is small but perfect, don’t really need anything more for two twelve-year-olds’ practicing ballroom dances. You and Feferi have been practicing for a year and a half and have only just now gotten competent enough to get through most of the steps without crushing each other’s toes...unintentionally at least._

_“Ow!! Okay, now I know you did that on purpose!!”_

_“I did not, you were moving too slow!!”_

_“Liar!!”_

_The two of you freeze when three sharp claps ring out through the room and you both turn to look at Mrs. Maryam, only to find that she isn’t there. You’re not in the dance studio anymore._

_You’re back in the hangout slumped against the wall and the side of your face is bleeding._

_You freeze, muscles locking up as you take in the scene around you. It’s not the same as you remember it, Sollux should be unconscious on the floor but he’s sitting just off to the side, curled up on one of the bean-bag chairs, phone out and scrolling through it._

_It’s the same with the others, Karkat and Kanaya are by the door and he seems to be trying to calm her down, her face is particularly agitated and she won’t look in your direction, you’re not sure if you actually want her attention on you, to be honest._

_You don’t get a chance to try and spot any more differences when Feferi kneels in front of you and drags your limp body into a hug. She’s crying and it’s all you can hear in the stifling silence, Karkat and Kanaya have stopped talking and you're willing to bet that Sollux has looked up from his phone._

_You shiver, you can feel their stares and it makes your skin crawl. Makes you remember the way everyone kept an eye on you like you’d run off and cause trouble the first chance you got...you’re thankful for the barrier Feferi’s body has inadvertently provided._

_You just sit there in her arms as she whispers something into your hair, damp from her tears. The blood on your cheek has dried, leaving an uncomfortable scab-like layer. This isn’t right, this isn’t what happened, you didn’t stay here for this long after the fight. You’d gotten up and staggered out of the building the moment their attention was elsewhere, fleeing as you tried to hold back tears._

_It’s this sense of wrongness that finally lets you gather the clarity to move, the muscles in your limbs slowly unlocking. You raise your hand and Feferi flinches back in shock as your palm brushes against her cheek. Her eyes are wide, her pupils the same gentle Fuschia they’ve always been._

_You open your mouth to say something, anything to comfort her only for everything to fade as you finally--_

======> Awaken from your Dream

**February 1, 20XX**

You jerk upwards, your body flinging itself into an attempted upright position only to immediately regret it when your head smacks into the underside of your coffee table... _what the fuck?_

You roll over to the side and crawl out, it’s dark and the faint light source shining through your window is the only indication of the time. It’s the early hours of the morning and the sunrise has just started. You feel gross, your clothes are sticking to you like a layer of grime and your entire body feels like one giant bruise as you stagger to your feet and feel your way along the wall until your fingers slide over the switch and flick it on.

You flinch back as light floods the room, temporarily blinding your eyes. They recover quickly though, by the sheer virtue that you hadn’t given them time to adjust to the darkness. You let out a long and heavy sigh as you cross the living room and head straight for the bathroom, you feel disgusting and the shower is calling your name. You wisely choose not to ignore it.

As the shower runs, cranked to the max for heat and pressure, your clothes make rather sickening noises as they hit the floor and you make a point to not look in the mirror above the sink, you’ve already picked up on the rancid smell, actual visual confirmation would just push you over the edge and you don’t want to hurl into the shower.

It’s instant relief when you finally step in and sit under the showerhead, curling up and letting the scalding water wash over your back, you think you’ll just sit here for a little while, the steady stream is slowly loosening the knots in your back and you just want to relax.

======> Cook breakfast, you still have some time

You’re already feeling much better now that your clean and the smell of delicious cooking food is finally replacing the bad smell...you’re not looking forward to cleaning those clothes that you’ve put into what you hope are durable garbage bags, might be safer to burn them though. You nod to yourself to confirm this train of thought as you slide the scrambled eggs onto your toast and coat them in salt and pepper.

You flick on the tv as you sit down on the couch and idly flip through the channels. You pause for a few seconds on the news channel but it’s covering some sort of gas explosion that happened in the city and something about a shooting star in the middle of the day. You quickly change it to early morning cartoons. It’s far too early for something so depressing.

At least, that’s what you were thinking first but the cartoons aren’t any better, being shameless rip-offs of timeless classics made for the sole purpose of generating higher viewership within an audience too young to know better. You scarf down the last of your breakfast as you just turn the whole thing off, you’d rather head to school early than subject yourself to that.

Thankfully at least, you’re already halfway ready, you’ve even already got your socks on. All that’s left is get your bag and put on your shoes. It’s only when you’re brushing your teeth that you notice the faint glow on the back of your hand and it’s only after you’ve noticed that you start to feel the pain. You let out a string of curses that would have your father slapping you upside the head as you shove your hand under the running cold water.

When you pull your hand back to inspect it you feel your heart leap into your throat at the sight of white and you silently freak out. What the fuck just happened? Did you lose layers of muscle and skin right down to the bone?! Against your better judgment, you frantically rub your thumb against the back of your hand and breathe a sigh of relief when you feel skin. It's just a strange mark.

Said strange mark is large with two delicate bone white wings spanning the entire width of your hand. The outer edges of the mark are slightly red and look like mild burns. You wince as you hold your hand under the running water. You have no fucking clue where this came from, at first you suspect a prank from Cronus but as you gently scrub around the edges you dismiss the idea because the mark isn’t washing off.

You rinse your mouth out and heave a deep sigh as you track down a large bandaid to cover the mark, the ends tickle the edges of your hand but it's a small price to pay...you really don’t want to deal with this right now and indeed, thoughts concerning it slowly fade to the back of your mind as you go through the rest of the motions swiftly and you’re tugging the violet gaiter over your head and around your neck, flicking your hair loose as you lock the door. By the time you finish pulling it up and over your mouth during the elevator ride down you’ve already forgotten about it.

======> The bus has arrived early, better hurry or you’ll be waiting for another hour

Fucking deja vu but okay. Thankfully this time you don’t have to hurl yourself through a door because there’s a line and you can enter in a safe and orderly fashion. You do so after the scanner has confirmed your ID and you sit at the front, you don’t feel like heading to the back for some reason.

You settle into your seat but you can’t bring yourself to relax. You're stuck with a constant feeling of ‘something isn’t right’ but you don’t know what. You haven’t seen those feathered beasts at all today but while strange, isn’t exactly abnormal. Even though they’ve been getting clearer, there are still times where they completely vanish so that can’t be what’s off.

You're broken from your thoughts by a tap on your shoulder; “Hey, mind if I sit here?” You glance up. Standing there is a young girl you think you’ve seen before but can’t be sure, the pale blond hair and sunglasses framing an impressively impassive face certainly appears to be very familiar but the shape of the sunglasses and the length of her hair throws you off, you feel like it should be shorter but hers is just the slightest bit longer with a messy fringe and fluffy earlocks framing her cheeks.

....The dress she’s wearing is really cute though.

She gently taps your shoulder again and you realize that you’ve just spent the last few minutes just staring at her in bewilderment. You feel your face flush in embarrassment as you pull your bag from the seat next to you into your lap. The small quirk of a smile she gives you as she sits down, folding long limbs so she can fit into the cramped space, is reassuring and actually helps soothe some of the swelling anxiety.

You’re thankful when she refrains from making any further conversation, instead choosing to pull out her phone. It’s then that you notice the mark on the back of her hand. It’s as large as yours but the color and shape are completely different. Her mark is deep red and looks as though someone cut a gash right across her hand with three droplets extending towards her knuckles.

You want to ask, to know and it's strange because you don’t even know her but you feel like you can talk to her about anything, she feels so safe...mind made up you hesitantly open your mouth only to be tossed forward when the bus hits the brakes. You barely catch yourself in time and avoid having your face collide with the seat in front of you. You recover quickly but it’s too late, the girl is already gone and you heave a sigh as you stand and shift your way into the line of shuffling students.

You cover the area around your nose and mouth, mashing the gaiter into your face as you are hit by a wave of hot humid air and nauseous fumes. You grimace as you make your bid for freedom, shuffling through the crowd until you reach a blessed empty space to the far right. Heaving a sigh of relief you decide to wait here until the crowds thin out a bit.

At least, that’s what you thought until you locked eyes with someone you haven’t had any form of direct contact with for two years. Karkat Vantas has only ever been a few inches shorter than you, he tends to look even shorter due to a bad habit of hunching in on himself that he never grew out of.

The Karkat staring at you doesn’t look familiar, his back is straight with his shoulders squared and his arms crossed. His face is like stone, eerily calm and completely at odds with the burning intensity that pulses through his eyes. It sends a chill down your spine, his gaze isn’t threatening, but it still makes you want to shuffle back and curl in on yourself.

And it’s only now that you realize that Karkat isn’t the only chillingly familiar face here.

Kanaya sits only a little ways away from him, calmly reading through a book as the smaller blond girl next to her embroiders a pattern you can’t discern with a small sewing kit set on the small space between them. As if sensing your gaze, the girl looks up and directly at you with deep purple eyes, giving you what she may think of as a reassuring smile but it isn’t having the intended effect. You fight to keep the cringe off of your face as you look around.

You can see Nepeta and Tavros to your left casually looking through cards on the bench. Equius is leaning against the wall behind them, observing the trade with detached interest and Gamzee is sitting on the ground next to Tavros, contently curled up with his face shoved into his phone.

Vriska and Terezi are to your right-leaning against the wall next to the gate, caught up in what must be a particularly fierce debate, Terezi is grinning like a shark while Vriska sneers as she aggressively flips through an old larping manual that is swiftly snatched out of her hands by Aradia as she passes by, a mischievous grin on her face.

And out of the corner of your eye, you see Feferi and Sollux exiting the bus. You feel like you’re losing your mind, you’ve never had any of them in the same vicinity before, only one or two, and that was just in passing. You feel instant relief as the bell finally chimes and the outer gates begin to swing open but it's cut off just as quickly because you can see Karkat walking towards you out of the corner of your eye and oh god you're starting to feel sick!!

======> Eridan: Absco-

“Yo!! I’ve been waiting for you!” A vibrant and cheerful voice rings out far too close to your ear as someone’s arm slings around your shoulders and you are tugged back into a half hug “We’re doin this super important project for our science class, it’s supposed to count for our whole grade this term and we’re the only ones who aren’t partnered up yet” The look on your face is surely one of complete incomprehension as you stare at the girl who is a full head taller than you and has just appeared out of practically nowhere.

You barely hear what she’s saying. Her face is so close to yours that you can’t really see the rest of her, all you can properly focus on are her eyes that are just as vibrant as her voice, bright neon pink with what you think maybe an eerie glow. You're brought back to reality when she pulls you along and you both start walking through the front gate “So, wanna partner up?”

“I...I usually work on my own.” is all you can respond with. It feels weird having someone else so close to you but you refrain from pulling away, you have a feeling that she’s the only thing protecting you from a...reunion with Karkat that you’d rather avoid.

“Yeah, but everyone’s ‘required’ to partner up and I heard you’re super into science so this’ll be fun!” Your indecision must show on your face because she continues and makes an offer no sane highschooler would turn down, “C’mon, I’ll tell you what? Whenever we have to meet up and work together, it can be at a cafe and I’ll treat you to as many cups of coffee as you want, how does that sound?” She bats her eyelashes and beams at you; she knows she’s already won. She really has, that’s an offer you literally can’t refuse for the sake of your sanity.

“Fine, at this point there’s not much of a choice so let’s go with it.” You give a sigh of relief as you both walk through the front doors, glad to be out of both the humidity and Karkat’s line of sight “So who are you anyway?” She blinks and gives an exaggerated groan of dismay and you give a returning yelp as she squeezes you into another half-hug...come to think of it she hasn’t moved the arm around your shoulder the entire time you’ve been walking.

“For real Eri? We’ve been sharing the same science class for the last three years going on four.” She gives you the most convincingly pathetic pout you’ve ever seen with eyes shining like a puppy whose tail you’ve accidentally stepped on and it’s enough to distract you from the nickname. “I’m Roxy Lalonde and don’t you forget it anytime soon” Her tone is still exaggerated and you fight the urge to smile but fail.

Even though the gaiter might hide your mouth you can’t hide how the grin reaches your eyes and naturally, she takes notice. She rewards you with a brilliant smile that will surely stay with you for the rest of your life.

======> Eridan: Obtain new friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Luneth who not only went over this chapter with a fine-toothed comb, saving it from being an incomprehensible disaster but also gave me permission to use dialogue from the original fic when I was having major trouble.
> 
> If Eridan seems to be too calm or oblivious about certain things at certain points, I assure you it is 100% intentional because reality-denying self-hypnosis fuelled by Hope powers is going to be a thing. She notices these things but because she doesn't want to deal with them, she subconsciously tunes them out until she forgets.

**Author's Note:**

> And so begins my descent into hell...it'll be worth it :D
> 
> Tags and pairings will be added as I write.


End file.
